tony&rodney

Wish Buxton would be in centerfield tonight. I'm expecting Ober to be good.

Hard for me to see how anyone who is not a billionaire sides with the owners .... but still it happens. Harper knows that his signing bonus money that included an MLB contract was done away with in subsequent years. He also knows that his team, the Philadelphia Phillies, pay out handsome salaries to compete while also doing well financially at the same time as several franchises have low payrolls but turn losses. I'm going to guess that Harper is thinking of all players when he speaks down to Manfred. Full disclosure on my part - Manfred is a clown. All that above aside and easily ignored completely (please do), what are the odds that the owners are going to adopt a 50% lowest to highest payroll much less a 90% figure? Fangraphs has the Marlins at $69M and the Dodgers at $396M. Uh, that means Miami pays about 17+% of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Meanwhile the Dodgers are locked into payrolls well above $200M for the next half decade and we could reasonably expect nothing less than $300M for their base. If one thinks 50% is doable this means about half of the franchises need to substantially increase their payroll. MLB is a mess because they have operated with a group of owners who direct a commissioner to rule in the interest of a few with scant notice and no apparent interest in the long term health of the game much less any reasonable legacy. So the owners want a cap. Ok. What will that look like? The players counter with a minimum. What does that look like? 90%? Say the players go as low as 70%, which would be incredibly generous given the comparisons to other sports leagues. The Dodgers sit at $396M. This means that 26 clubs would currently be in violation of reaching 70% of the ceiling in payroll. Naturally, then, this comes back to revenue sharing in some form and what are the chances that MLB opens the books. Ownership of a team is restricted to those accepted by the current owners. Just a reminder that Carl Pohlad was the only one of the 4 or 5 groups attempting to buy the Twins in 1984 that was accepted. The only path forward without a lengthy strike is for honest revenue sharing, which then could mean both floors and ceilings. Does anyone else wonder how the owners will manage that conversation? There was a relevant article published last January concerning this topic that you may have read. It is worth a read. Owners are very good at manipulating others and selling through many channels to the public. Does the MLB Revenue-Sharing Model Require Adaptation? By Jake McKibbin January 30

The Minnesota Twins and Carlos Correa marriage is over. Correa didn't work in the final analysis. The money gets attention but it wasn't really a factor. Correa played well .... at times, but also suffered various injuries. The position players on the team didn't exactly pick up the slack. Stuff happens. It sure seems like a pile of people want to see Carlos Correa as a negative and there are quite a few articles and comments that make him the scapegoat for the Twins performance. I just don't believe that is necessary. While Carlos may have produced less than what I may have expected, he isn't responsible for which players filled out the remaining 25 slots on the team or the performance of other players.

This article was expected given the Roman Anthony news. The Twins are in a different world than Boston though, and other teams as well. The sale of the team will slow down any decisions related to money. If Bailey Ober finishes this year on a strong note, we should expect that he is traded. Nobody should be surprised if one, some, or all of Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, Lewis, Wallner, and Larnach are moved this coming off season. If you were playing really well and a year or two from free agency, would you sign a team friendly deal with Minnesota? I don't see any long term contracts being signed in the near future. The sale of the team is a factor.

Well, there is still the $11+M per year for the next 3 years to pay. Either way, Correa is now history. The club may not sell before the CBA is completed and this may drag into 2027. We just have zero idea how the sale of the team will go down. Drop the price to $1B and perhaps it sells quickly. The Twins are not going to spend the $20M per year saved on players. It is folly to expect a $135M payroll in 2026. Look for something closer to $90M. Yes, the team needs a new owner and management. It doesn't seem imminent. Patience is our only resource as fans.

Brooks Lee will play shortstop about 6 times per week through the rest of the year. We likely need to keep an open mind (says the guy who wanted to trade him for Jeferson Quero last November and I would still do that deal). Next season I'm hoping that Kaelen Culpepper is the shortstop.

You are off topic. What do you think about Gabriel Gonzalez? Do you think he is the hitting prospect the Twins have been looking for from the right handed batter's box?

Well, Correa will still be the 3rd highest contract paid out by the Twins in each of the next 3 years. So Carlos is still with us in a way, just not in the lineup.

Sure. The coaching is pretty similar across baseball. Some times the atmosphere is perceived as better, which may be true. The separation is in how players use suggestions or choose to work on skills.

Think he is just as well off playing in Wichita. The difference is minimal and I'm afraid he he doesn't play every day for St. Paul.

Pitchers are variable in how they react/recover from pitching, whether it is 20 or 60 or 120 pitches. Some arms recover quickly and these guys can throw 2 out of three days for an inning or two because they recover pretty quickly. Most arms require 3 or more days off when they throw more than 60 pitches. Thus the strategy of using pitchers relies to some extent on whether the pitching staff can physically meet the demands being asked of them. We have seen pretty much every strategy possible used in the last half century, due to a host of factors ranging from a lack of talent to monetary restrictions to experimentation and more. MLB has also changed the rules on several occasions which affects the makeup of the roster. A 25 person roster that also includes strict rules on shuttles between the minors and majors and does not account for position players pitching would affect how a manager uses their pitching staff. I expect we will see a few teams develop pitchers who develop the stamina to throw up to 120 pitches in a game. The general strategy doesn't really change much as teams attempt to use their best collection of pitchers to get through each game and the season. A real problem with targeted strategies that limit pitchers to a specific number of batters is that become more throwers than pitchers. This isn't just velocity but paying attention to the game as it it unfolds. A simple example was how Pierson Ohl reverted to throwing as opposed to pitching. It was very clear that the batter were sitting on the change and yet he still went to it again and again. When a batter is hitting your change off of their back foot they are totally susceptible to a mediocre fastball. So pitching is still about experience and stamina. I suspect that running will return as a means of increasing stamina. So, it's complicated but we will continue to see teams use various ways to use pitching. I'm in favor of pitchers pitching as opposed to just emptying their bullets throwing.

Maybe we can retire conversations from the past. The ifs and what ifs and thens are not relevant to a discussion of whether Gabriel Gonzalez can be a guy the Twins turn to in a corner outfield position as soon as next year.

Winning streak?

Culpepper has been fantastic. He has been the leader of the Wichita team. The concern, from me, was his tendency to chase on occasions. There are times when Kaelen takes some wild swings. I'm seeing enough physical and mental talent that I'm hoping Culpepper can be the Twins shortstop next season. That may be aggressive but he raises the bar for defense, base-running, and is a dangerous bat as well.

The improvements from Gonzalez have been substantial pretty much across the board. Based solely on my viewing (via milb.com), there isn't a player in the Twins organization that has improved so markedly. Last year Gonzalez stood out for his complete incompetence in the outfield more than anything else. If that seems harsh one needed to watch him play a couple dozen games. I'm not caring why he was so atrocious then but rather very encouraged by his gains in tracking fly balls and approaching base hits during 2025. Gonzalez has a chance, with some more improvement, to play in the field for the Twins. I'm not talking about just putting him in the game, as we have so often seen the Twins do with pure DH guys, but referring to a player who can make the routine plays on a regular basis. This has been an exciting transformation to watch and I'm very hopeful the next steps are taken. Gabriel has solid bat to ball skills and his biggest improvements at the plate have been his increased ability to look for pitches he can crush. He had great leadership in front of him in Kaelen Culpeper and Walker Jenkins at Wichita. MLB pitchers will test the limits of young players chasing and the hope is that Gonzalez cleans up that part of his game. I have no idea what was the cause of the problems that were evident in the outfield prior to this year but I'm hoping the young man can practice with 250 fly balls a day for a couple of months this winter in addition to his usual hitting routines. The Twins could have a solid corner outfielder in Gabriel Gonzalez.

Seems like the Twins reacted to teams coming to them. Did the Twins target any players? Were they willing to pay market to acquire stronger prospects? The unknown creates doubt in my mind concerning how to evaluate the transactions. Certainly it is really difficult to understand what type of baseball player Falvey values. It does seem like he favors LH corner outfielders who may best fit as peripheral defenders or DH's and any pitching. For example, I have to wonder if Taj Bradley was all that could have been returned? Would the Cubs have sent over Kevin Alcantara? Could Jax, Castro, and a minor leaguer have returned Harry Ford? These are all unanswerable and speculative to a large extent. Grading the recent deals doesn't mean too much but (for me) it feels like someone didn't do their homework ahead of time and failed to maximize the potential of those players sent off. There are good players received, to be sure, but they mostly feel like alternatives to what was already within the organization.

Always appreciate the work that goes into writing these reports. Thank you for your work. The minor correction below does not detract from the story. FWIW, Keaschall's line drive double (100.9 mph) that scored two runs in the 1st inning was down the left field line off the very tip of Riley Greene's glove. Greene, according to our illustrious play by play announcer, grades out as the best left fielder in baseball for jumps and range. Put in context, Bader, who is a pretty good outfielder, does not get within 6 feet of the ball. So not a miscue and credit where credit is due ... to Keaschall. The Twins seemed to have a very solid plan today versus Flaherty and hit his fastball. The Twins also hustled. I have been miffed why every player is not sprinting all out on every play. If they are worried about injury, sit out.

Again, 5 out of 6 pitches were change-ups in same location. Can't hurt any worse to throw 1 fastball there.

Great effort on that one.

#1. Born in Minnesota and as such assigned by birth to be a fan of "our" teams. #2. Twins fan since their first game in 1961. Too late to quit. #3. Baseball is my favorite sport/hobby. #4. There is always something to enjoy even in the worst of times, such as pitch selections. #5. Baseball is summer and I love summer.

Sometimes you need to meet the price if you want a guy.

Both Varland and Stewart were traded for ifs. The Twins are addicted to ifs. We can spin and spin and spin to come up with ..... if Outman, if Rojas, if Roden. The Dodgers and Blue Jays reached out to the Twins and saw guys who can, so they offered their ifs.

Which is why a number of people were pushing hard for the Twins to add someone like Rushing, Ford, Quero, or another MLB ready catcher. As it is, Noah Cardenas or Vazquez returning are the options.

When I read the articles of Dan Hayes I'm left with the impression that it is always the other team that initiates trade conversations. The Twins don't seem to go after a player as much as react to offers and suggestions. While this may not be totally true we did read Falvey quotes about how various teams liked certain Twins guys and the deals went from there. Hopefully the Twins have a specific target when they negotiate trades of Ryan and Ober (Lopez if he is dealt too).

The bottom line is winning and unless you are the #1 run scoring team by a pile there needs to be players in the field who can turn batted balls into outs. A team can sometimes get away with playing one (or even two at times) weak defender(s). The Twins have often put more than two guys out in the field who struggle. If Emmanuel can stay healthy and Jenkins can make the jump, they can play on either side of Buxton. This would be a decent outfield. Earlier this summer I was wondering how many fly balls fell in right field that were outs with Max out there. It has been a ton. I'm not pining for Kepler at all, but I do want good defenders in the outfield. I would say that Bader did a good job in the outfield. Now we need our next wave of young pups to play the same type of defense.